Four Bobcats named All-OEC

The Saddleback baseball team opens the playoffs this Friday but the coaches from the Orange Empire Conference convened ahead of time on Wednesday night to take care of some housekeeping work and select an all-conference team.  The Bobcats had four players named to the team.

Jace Barajas, Jack Gallison, Andreas Nilsen and James Derflinger were all named to the All-Orange Empire Conference Second Team.

Barajas became a starting pitcher in mid-March and landed a spot in the rotation during the second week of conference play.  He finished the regular season 6-2 overall with two saves and a 3.12 ERA for the year.  Barajas led the team with 57.2 innings pitched this season, striking out 50.

Gallison became a starter for Saddleback in the third week of conference play and was the Tuesday starter the rest of the season.  In his first start, Gallison had a perfect game going through five innings to set the stage for a great back-half of the season.  Gallison finished 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA and 0.95 WHIP for the year. 

Nilsen became a regular starter at first base for the Bobcats at mid-season and instantly became a force at the plate.  He batted .310 for the season and was third on the team with five home runs.  Nilsen had a .563 slugging percentage, finishing with 20 RBI in 27 games.

Derflinger was arguably the most consistent player in the lineup from start-to-finish, playing in all 40 games.  He batted .309 in conference play, leading the team with 26 stolen bases for the year.  In addition, Derflinger was arguably the top defensive player on the team, committing just one error all season in 101 total chances.

Saddleback (24-16) will open the playoffs at El Camino College on Friday at 2:00 PM.